AALEXANDER’S CONQUESTS brought the Near East and Egypt fully into the sphere of Greek economics. The Hellenistic period did not see widespread improvements, however, in the way people lived and worked. Cities flourished, but many people who lived in rural areas were actually worse off than they had been before because of higher levels of rents and taxes. Alexander and his successors did link East and West in a broad commercial network, however. The spread of Greeks throughout the Near East and Egypt created new markets and stimulated trade.